02096 - Field Crops

Learning outcomes

To develop competency in sustainable field crop management. This implies the knowledge of technical and scientific principles of the cultivation of major crops and the ability to modify the factors influencing the quantity and quality of crop yield. At the end of the course the student knows the cropped species, their requirements and the practices to obtain the main agricultural products.

Course contents

Prerequisites:

The student following this lecture should have achieved solid knowledge of (general and systematic) botany and of general agronomy.

During the class lecture he gets scientific and technical information on the cultivation of main field crops. Each crop is described on the basis of its economic importance, main morpho-physiological traits and environmental requirements. Its particular cropping techniques is discussed, together with the quantitative-qualitative parameters of its production. Crops are grouped according to the destination of their products. Each group is treated first regarding the socio-economic importance of its production then on the basis of its botanical and cropping peculiarities. For each group the main species is described in deep, only the main differential characteristics are underlined for the other crops.

Thus the lectures are organized as follows:

1.     Field crops __________________________6 hours

•   Definition, Diffusion, Economy, Classifications

2.     CEREALS __________________________ 15 h

•   Description, Economy, Classification
•   Wheat
•   Description and classification, Economy, Crop cycle and environmental requirements, Cropping techniques, Harvesting and production, product and by-products.
•   Winter cereals
•   Barley, Oat, Rye, Triticale, Broad leaf cereals
•   Corn
•   Economy, Botany and environmental requirements, cropping techniques, Harvesting and products
•   Sorghum
•   Description, Economy, Classification, Cropping
•   Millet, Pearl millet, Pennisetum
•   Rice
•   Botany, Diffusion and economy, Cropping technique, Production and product

3.     PULSES __________________________ 4 h

•   Description, Economy, Classification
•   Pea
•   Botany, Cropping technique, Production and product
•   Horse bean
•   Botany, Cropping
•   Chickpea, Lentils, Lupins
•   Beans
•   Botany, Diffusion, Cropping technique, Production

4.     OIL CROPS __________________________ 4 h

•   Description, Economy, Classification
•   Soybean
•   Botany, Economy, Cropping
•   Sunflower
•   Description, Economy, Cropping
•   Cruciferae oil crops
•   Description, Economy, Classification, Canola
•   Peanut, Linen, Minor oil crops

5.     SUGAR CROPS __________________________ 5 h

•   Description, Economy
•   Sugarbeet
•   Classification, Botany and environmental requirements, Cropping techniques, Harvesting and product
•   Sugarcane

6.     ENERGY CROPS __________________________ 2 h

•   Bioenergetic agriculture
•   Biofuels, Bioethanol, Biodiesel

7.     TEXTILES CROPS __________________________ 2 h

•   Description, Economy, Classification
•   Cotton
•   Botany and economy, Cropping
•   Hemp

8.     Medicinal, aromatic plants and tobacco____________  2 h

•   Aromatic plans
•   Tobacco
•   Description, Economy, Classification, Cure and product

9.     TUBER CROPS __________________________ 2 h

•   Description, Economy
•   Potato
•   Botany, Cropping technique, Product

10.  FORAGE CROPS __________________________ 12 h

•   Hints on animal husbandry, Description, Economy, Classification
•   Forage conservation
•   Hay making, dehydratation, Silage
•    Annual leys
•   Winter and summer leys
•   Poliennal meadows
•   Monophytes Leguminous meadows, Alfalfa, Clover, White clover,
  Minor leguminous meadows, Graminacee meadows, Polyphythes meadows
•   Pastures
•   Description and management

To the class lectures (54 Hours) 26 h of practical activities are added, in order to increase the botanical knowledge of cropped species. To teach species identification students are shown actual seeds and pictures of adult plants of main crops. They visit the agricultural garden of the Department. During the farm visits they see the long term experiments where they can observe the conduction of some agricultural practices.

Readings/Bibliography

·  BALDONI R., GIARDINI L. Coltivazioni erbacee: Cereali e proteaginose. Ed. Patron, Bologna

·  BALDONI R., GIARDINI L. Coltivazioni erbacee: Piante oleifere, da zucchero, da fibra, orticole e aromatiche. Ed. Patron, Bologna

·  BALDONI R., GIARDINI L. Coltivazioni erbacee: Foraggere e tappeti erbosi. Ed. Patron, Bologna

·  BONCIARELLI U., BONCIARELLI F. Coltivazioni erbacee. Ed. Edagricole, Bologna

Teaching methods

Class lectures with overhead video presentations, practical experiences, including visits to the agricultural garden ( http://www.dista.unibo.it/Orto%20Agrario/web/webenglish/WEB_Dista_English/Welcome.html ) and to agricultural experimental farm where long term agronomic experiments are carried out ( http://www.scienzeagrarie.unibo.it/it/servizi-e-strutture/esperienze-agronomiche-a-lungo-termine-ealt )

Assessment methods

This lecture is part of the course “72665 – Field crops and Principles of Vegetable and Floristic crops”; thus the final evaluation of the students will take into account the achieved knowledge of both courses. As regard this lecture, in the final, oral, exam the student will be asked three questions: the first one regarding the peculiar characteristics of a certain crop, the second question on the cropping technique of a species, the third on a forage crop. He will be evaluated on the basis of the acquired knowledge, on the ability of reasoning and of expressing his ideas.

Teaching tools

Power point slides shown by overhead video projector during the lectures. The slides are copied on the student's pen drives at the beginning of the lectures

Office hours

See the website of Guido Baldoni